There’s nothing like being transported back to a place where you have great memories, and one of the best ways to get that feeling is through food.
Whether it was some great tapas you had over a weekend in Barcelona or some freshly caught seafood on the North Coast, the sights, smells and tastes follow around for a while.
When I rocked up to Bo Tree Kitchen the smells of Thailand and the street food in Bangkok came rushing back, and I instantly knew I would be in for a treat.
In what has to be said is a bit of an odd location for a restaurant, you’ll find Bo Tree on University Avenue in the Holyland, directly opposite the infamous Spar shop.
Don’t let that fool you though, pound for pound this is one of the best restaurants I’ve eaten at in the city.
We went on a Friday night and we were lucky to get a table having just booked earlier that day - the place was heaving and there was a great atmosphere about. It’s BYOB as well which is always a plus.
Now, the food. I have to admit this wasn’t my first time here so I knew what to expect to a certain extent but all the dishes were amazing.
Their menu is quite extensive, so even if you’re a bit unsure about Thai cuisine, there are loads of different options from noodles to rice, curries to soups and skewers.
The star of the show was undoubtedly the beef massaman curry with a side of sticky rice, it hit the perfect balance of sweet, spicy and sour that Thai food is known for.
We also had one of the specials for a starter which was moo yang, a kind of chargrilled pork skewer and it was really tasty as well.
There was another starter of crispy fried calamari, and Kung Pad Prik Pao, a spicy prawn dish that packed a real punch.
The latter was probably a little above my tolerance for spice, but still bursting with flavour.
Our whole bill for two people came to £35 and I struggle to think of anywhere in Belfast you can eat as well for that kind of money.
Best of all, you get that amazing feeling of being somewhere else in the world for a couple of hours.
Time to book that trip to Bangkok...
